by J. Carrarn
"That's Domain. He is coming along with us," Solus said, stopping her in her tracks.
She glowered at the darkhunter for a moment longer before turning to the gate.
"And here I thought Derin had evolved into a stupid-looking form. Whatever. Are we going?"
A sputter came from the blue-skinned Derin, but Solus barked a laugh. "Yes. The sooner we leave, the faster we will be back."
Stomping toward the gate, twice as high and twice as wide as him, he shoved it open with a single hand. Dusty, flat terrain stretched out until they reached the hills beyond Skulltown. To the left side was a ridge, and as Solus walked out of the gate, his gaze lingered on the ridge for a moment while the image of a red, loudmouthed skeleton flashed through his mind.
Derin moved beside him, his shorter legs almost running to keep up. "So, Drys wasn't exactly forthcoming with information about our trip. Care to tell us what is going on?"
Solus turned away from the ridge, focusing on the shadowy hills in the distance, the sun above them.
"You know about the rifts, right?"
—
Partially hidden inside the top side of the wall, the shade stared at the dangerous grey giant, speaking in its rumbling voice to the other undead. That one, Solus, had somehow detected its presence, and since it hadn't cared to come as close as before. Clutching two mana-orbs closer to its body, it watched until the small group disappeared into the hills. Then it sighed in relief.
Turning back to the city, it felt a lot more secure, and it hoped that the grey giant wouldn't come back. Or at least not until it had managed to evolve into something more powerful. It remembered the walls filled with… patterns? Yes, that's what they call them here. The shade faded back through the wall, clutching the orbs.
It examined the enormous, undead-filled city.
So many in one place, and none that fight each other for their mana-orbs, it thought.
It hoped it could evolve before the Kaot Lords found this place. Then it could create a balancing rift to prevent any large rifts from forming. It would eviscerate the smaller Kaots that would try to take control of this burgeoning empire and finally stop fleeing!
Floating down the wall, it searched for an empty building to absorb the orbs it had snatched from the one called Drys. For the first time in its long existence, it had the feeling there could be more to its future than just fleeing and fighting.
Training
Solus shifted his gaze from the ground to the small clump of gold on the palm of his hand. Focusing his will, he made it wobble and stretch until it was a long, thin cable, and then he allowed it to form back into a small clump. As he repeated the exercise, he had to split his attention between walking and shaping the gold. At the same time, he tried his best to ignore Derin, who hovered around him.
A soft ping came from his status, and he sighed. It had been quite a while since the last time that had happened. If he continued like this, increasing his attributes would take far too long! He turned the gold back into a bracelet around his wrist, knowing he needed to take time to focus all of his attention on it. Practicing while walking was inefficient.
The hills behind them cast long shadows that crept along the small valley, and when Solus stepped out of the shadows and into the light, he looked back at their steep slopes. The sun would disappear behind the hills soon. According to Sig, tomorrow they would leave the hills, and the long trek through the wasteland and toward Scathia's city would begin.
The valley floor ended in a tall, crumbling cliff with a narrow path leading up one side.
"We will stop there for the night," Solus said as he pointed at the cliff wall.
It wasn't that he was tired, but he wanted to practice through the night. He looked at the party that was jogging and running to keep up with him. The fleshy undead all breathed raggedly. Even Domain struggled to keep up, his head drooping as he ran forward. Only Sumil and Galg seemed to be holding up fine, although the latter straggled far behind the rest of the party.
Solus looked at the lightning-imbued skeleton, and irritation coursed through him. That one just couldn't keep its mouth shut, and everything it said made him want to throttle it until it did.
"I saw you look! Can I come and walk with the strong ones at the front again?"
Galg's voice whined in all directions around his head, and Solus groaned. What was Drys thinking sending this one along?
"No! Stay back there until we reach the cliffside," Solus shot back, using his disembodied voice so he wouldn't accidentally blast everyone away again.
"Sure, because why should I be allowed to walk with you…? It's not like I've already evolved three times or anything! It's just—" The skeleton's voice cut off when a stone tendril grew from the ground and slapped it across the chest, hurling it backward.
Nobody even looked up at the sound. It wasn't the first time that had happened, nor had it just been Solus who had silenced Galg.
The first time Solus had seen Tatjie shut Galg up by knocking him down with one of her great paws, he had been stunned. Why had she done that? To his surprise, Galg had scrambled back up, appearing unharmed and continuing as if nothing had happened. It happened a few more times, with the same result. His twig-like bones seemed incredibly durable, no matter how hard the others smacked him around. If Galg had been just the least bit more powerful, Solus might have had cause to worry he would go on a rampage. A little while and a constant stream of annoying remarks later, Solus knew exactly why they silenced him so forcefully. It was the only way that worked.
Sprinting ahead of the others, Solus looked at the cliff, feeling his annoyance take the upper hand again. Taking a deep breath, he focused on the stone. A large section of the cliff rippled, and dust and stones clattered to the ground. The section of stone that he was extruding from the cliff smoothed out, like the walls surrounding Skulltown. At the bottom of this newly created structure, a large entrance appeared, and a rumbling came from inside the cliff. Slowly, as if drawn by an invisible hand, an inscription formed around the door, shaped like spliced trees. At their apex the trees came together, holding a skull. Slightly above the door and to its sides, two more openings appeared, smaller and without adornment.
As he worked, Solus's annoyance receded, and tranquil happiness took its place. Finished, he looked at the temporary shelter he had made and smiled. The more elaborate his creations, the happier he felt.
"Are you planning on living here?" Domain asked, as he dropped to the ground beside him, speaking between ragged breaths.
Solus grinned, his satisfaction at what he had created increasing.
"Don't like it? You can sleep outside."
Not waiting for the reply, he stepped through the arch, examining the large hollowed-out room. In the middle was a thick, solid table with a few benches around it, while two circular staircases at each side led up to a gallery that encircled the room. The gallery led to six rooms of different sizes, reachable via a stone staircase. The largest one was straight above the entrance, and it was the only one with windows. The others were almost like cells.
Turning to the others, Solus pointed up. "Find a room and rest up. We continue onward when the sun rises!"
Derin, Tatjie, and Sig barely responded, just trudging past him wearily and up to find a room.
Sumil entered, scrutinizing the tree carvings in the sides of the entrance before looking around and nodding.
"You have improved!"
A feeling of contentment passed through Solus, and he grinned at Sumil before turning to a staircase.
"Thanks, I've been practicing. I am going up to rest. Please don't disturb me unless it's important."
Moving up one of the staircases and over the gallery, he saw the fleshies sprawl across the benches beside the table. A good moment to rest, he thought with a grin.
The room he had made for himself was tall and spacious, with a large stone bed dominating the middle. The entrance had a large stone slab beside it to act as a door. Closin
g it, he lay down on the stone slab, feeling it crack under his weight in some weak areas. Status!
Name: Os Solus
Age: 1
Sex: Male
Race: Demi stone elemental
Type: Mutation
Class: Stone shaper
Strength: 41/48
Constitution: 34/39
Dexterity: 20/24
Endurance: 69/90
Intelligence: 29/34
Wisdom: 20/23
Charisma: 9/16
Mana-field: 13978/14000
Physical density: 17100/19000
Skills: 2
Inscriptions: 3/7
Mana generation: 32
His intelligence and mana-field should by now be ready for another evolution, he knew. Calling up the possible evolution patterns, he nodded in approval. It wouldn't be long now, and he could hardly wait to see what new options he would have.
> Potential evolutions pending … ...
> Unusual mutation detected in current inscription. Calculating possible paths…
> Time remaining: Two days, one hour, and forty-seven minutes
That meant he needed to increase his values somehow, and soon.
Looking at his charisma, he shrugged. Well, almost all.
He removed a mana-orb from the pouch attached to his waist and held it up. It was quite large and barely fit in his hand—a wyrm-orb! Initially, he had thought they were just the same as normal mana-orbs, but he and Drys had found they held substantially more energy than their size warranted. They were also rare, and not many of them were in circulation. Most went to Drys so he could quickly ready an undead for evolution, if necessary.
Solus focused, and the orb pulsed as energy trickled through his hand and into his body. So little, he thought with a groan. The entire orb would barely be enough to refill his energy field, and he only had two left. It will have to do. He could always hunt Wyrms during the journey to Scathia's city. Even among wyrm-orbs there were differences, some holding far more energy than others. Perhaps he would be lucky and find a massive one.
A soft muttering came from the main room beyond his door. Sig, Derin, and Tatjie were trading hunting stories. Listening in for a while, Solus discovered that none of the others had ever gone out this way. Traveling through the hills was a lot more time-consuming than through the open expanse of the wasteland. Only Sig had been here, and he was retelling the story of tracking Silt's army back to its origins.
Solus blocked them out and focused his attention on the gold. He planned to continue shaping it until he either maxed out his intelligence or ran out of energy.
—
Hours later, when all was silent in the temporary shelter, Solus rose and stretched. He was tired, and the energy in his mana-field was almost drained. Two of the mana-orbs lay grey and empty beside the bed, but it had been worth it. He only needed one more intelligence point to max it out, and his mana-field would be ready for evolution.
Around his wrist was an intricate bracelet of gold, thin strands spliced together in a delicate mesh. It wasn't very strong, but he was satisfied with it for now. Besides, his energy level was so low that he couldn't change it back without using his last orb. That would have to wait for morning.
No, he needed to try something else first.
All of his evolutions so far had been based on his physical strength, constitution, and endurance, and he would not evolve without maxing those out. Physical strength would be the easiest to max out, as he just had to hunt more Wyrms which would also result in more mana-orbs. Absorbing those would help him in more ways than just increasing his strength.
Moving to the window, he grimaced as he focused his remaining energy and increased the window's size. He felt drained. Outside, the combination of moonlight and the stone that ever glowed with a dim green outline made it easy for him to see.
He jumped from the window, landing as softly as he could on his hands and feet, trying to be as quiet as possible. He succeeded partially, but the ground still shook slightly, and a heavy thud resounded across the valley floor.
"Where are you going?"
Solus started and turned to see Domain, who lay in the shadow of an outcrop, staring at the moon. He hesitated for a moment, thinking he should just leave without answering, and then he sniffed.
"I need to increase my strength, and I know only one good way of doing that."
Domain cocked his head to the side, his gaze remaining fixed on the moon. "Lift weights?"
Solus blinked, staring at Domain with a stunned look on his face. "I was thinking about finding a quiet place and just punching the side of a cliff…"
Domain rose, letting out a dry, throaty chuckle before stretching with a satisfied groan. "There are better ways to become stronger than just hitting things." He trotted toward Solus and stared up.
Solus wondered for just a moment if he was going to regret this, and then he shrugged. "How?"
"Like I said, lifting weights would work, although I have no idea where to find something heavy enough for you to lift. To physically struggle against something almost as strong as you would work, but… again… where to find something like that?"
A sensation that Solus hadn't felt a lot before passed through him for a moment. Flattery… he thought, images of the concept floating through his mind. It was a hard thing to grasp, and it wasn't necessarily bad, but it could be used to manipulate, it seemed.
"So…?" Solus asked, drawing out the word.
"Not just you, but all of us will have to become stronger before we reach Scathia, and for that, we need many more mana-orbs. This means we will have to hit two birds with one stone."
Solus gaped at Domain as the concept of small flying things floated through his mind. "They could fly, like Drys?" he muttered.
Domain stared at him in stunned silence before nodding. "Yes...like Drys…"
The darkhunter sprinted forward, across the plain toward the side of the hill, into the open wastes.
Domain turned back to Solus. "Coming?"
Solus grinned and ambled forward, slowly picking up speed. If he shot forward like Domain, he would wake the others and create a small crater. It didn't matter. Within moments his speed had increased such that he was jumping short distances with each leap, his body angled almost horizontally as he sprang over the ground. Every time he hit the ground, a small pit opened up below his feet. Cracks running through the dirt and stone shot about.
He passed Domain, who had also increased his speed, all four limbs moving so fast they became a blur. Solus expected he would overtake him and leave him far behind, but Domain kept up easily.
Watching the darkhunter sprint beside him, Solus blinked in surprise. Domain had been completely exhausted before, hadn't he? Or had the AI been feigning weariness? He needed to keep a sharper eye on Domain. The AI was far too clever, and Solus still wasn't sure if he was even remotely trustworthy.
Solus shot up one hill, down another, and over a second within the time it would take the others to cross a single hill. Cresting the next one, he saw the familiar grey terrain of the wasteland stretch out before him. He slowed down, noting he had finally left Domain behind. Turning around to see where the AI was, he saw the quadruped come down the hill; its movements far more jittery and sluggish than when they had started. When it finally reached him, Solus snorted.
Perhaps it wasn't putting on an act after all, he thought with a grin.
Domain's long black tongue dangled limply from its mouth. Dragging itself beside Solus, it crumpled down, a heavily breathing heap of black muscle and limbs.
"So, what do we do here?"
Domain didn't respond but closed his eyes and lay down. A second later, his disembodied voice sounded out beside Solus's head while Domain's darkhunter form tried to catch its breath.
"Find us a Wyrm."
Even the disembodied voice sounded oddly winded.
Curious how he would increase his strength through a Wyrm, Solus reached out into the wa
stes with his stone sense, searching for the telltale tremors that signaled the passing of one of the giant Wyrms. It didn't take him too long to locate one, crawling parallel to them. It was far away, but his senses stretched further.
Pointing his finger in the direction, Solus wondered how Domain was going to even get there.
"There's one over there."
Domain struggled up and moved toward him. "Alright. Pick me up and carry me there."
Solus sighed. He should have expected as much. Not that it mattered, he thought as he picked up the lithe black shape of Domain and threw it over his shoulder. Holding him in place with one arm, Solus leaped forward, leaving behind a thunderous sonic boom and a cracked pit with debris raining down in it.
He thought he heard a strangled cry come from Domain, but he didn't care. The wind whipped over his face as he leaped forward, leaving a line of craters in his wake. Before too long, he saw the dust trail of the Wyrm from the apex of one of his jumps.
As he closed the distance, he slowed down until he was a few hundred yards away from the massive Wyrm. He dropped Domain's grumbling shape to the ground and inspected the Wyrm. It was a large one. Not as big as the one that served as his tower but still far bigger than most he had seen. To his shock, he saw partially healed wounds across its flank.
"Some of those Kaots must have attacked it!" he shouted to be heard above the roaring of shifting sand coming from the Wyrm as it sped across the wasteland.
Domain got up and stared at him for a moment before turning his gaze on the Wyrm. Solus wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a hungry glitter in Domain's eyes.
"There is nothing we can do about that right now. Instead, let's get started. To increase your strength, you need to struggle."
Struggle? Solus quietly stood beside Domain, inspecting the Wyrm. What did the AI want him to do? He could easily end Wyrms.
Domain looked up, the sides of his wide mouth curling up, and a vicious glitter showed in his eyes. The expression disappeared so fast, Solus almost thought he had imagined it.
"Get in front of it and stay still until it tries to bite you. Then hold its jaws open."